Huge cut in budget of state universities, colleges hit

Rufus Rodriguez

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has expressed support for calls to restore the budget cut from the P100.8-billion budget of 36 state universities and colleges (SUCs) for next year.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the government should protect and promote the rights of citizens to quality education. Therefore, it is only appropriate to restore the more than P6 billion budget cuts of SUCs, Rodriguez said on Monday.

For 2024, SUCs across the country have a P100.8-billion budget under the government’s national expenditure program, which was 5.75 percent lower than its 2023 budget of P107 billion.

Most of the P6.155-billion budget cuts of SUCs were originally intended for capital outlay such as the improvement of SUCs’ facilities.

Rodriguez said the over P6-billion cut from the budget of SUCs should be restored and vowed that he would write to Speaker Martin Romualdez and House appropriations panel chair Rep. Elizaldy Co on his proposal for the restoration of the SUCs’ budget.

“Let us support our students in these SUCs by appropriating sufficient funding for their schools. Let us prioritize the education of our youth,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

Return P6.2B

“Let us return the P6.2 billion taken away from them,” he added.

Rodriguez suggested that they can reduce the funding items for “less important expenses” such as travel, representation and entertainment, vehicle acquisition, office renovation and even bills for utilities.

Reduction of these items’ funding would “generate forced savings in favor of supporting our students in SUCs,” the lawmaker added.

He also noted that among the SUCs to suffer from the budget cuts would be the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, which he described as the “go-to-school of poor students.” Also to be affected are state agricultural colleges in provinces, he added.

Rodriguez cited the Constitution, which provides that the state shall protect and promote the right of citizens to quality education and that “appropriate steps” must be made to make education accessible to all Filipinos. INQ